Due to exhaustion (and also because he didn't want to keep wasting his energy), Morro unpossessed Lloyd, leaving him passed out in an alleyway in Stiix where he is rescued by the Ninja. In their cavern headquarters, Bansha deciphers the second clue; the Sword of Sanctuary.

------------------------------

"The next clue," Morro called as he practiced his Airjitzu. "What is it?"

"We're deciphering it right now." Bansha grumbled almost impatiently. She ran her pale fingers along the images that had been scribbled out on the back of the Airjitzu scroll. She mumbled some profanities under her breath. "Patience, Morro."

"Waiting is beneath me," he grumbled. "I waited fifty something years to escape the Cursed Realm and aid the Preeminent in her conquest and I'm being delayed because you four care more about..." his eyes ran along his generals, "potstickers and chunks of glowing rock," he finished, noting the food in Ghoultar's hand and the stones that Wrayth was examining with interest.

"If you waited fifty years to carry out this plan," Wrayth picked up a glowing stone and tossed it up. "You can wait another day or two."

"Besides," Bansha scanned her eyes along the images again. "I'm the one deciphering the clues. If you want the clue so badly, figure it out yourself."

"I have to practice my Airjitzu," Morro said. That was a lie. Over the past two days, he'd perfected his Airjitzu until he could do it in his sleep, and the generals knew that as well. "And I need to preserve my energy--"

"Deciphering a few drawings isn't going to kill you," Bansha deadpanned. "You're being lazy."

Morro chose to ignore her, stalking out of the cave and walking until it was out of sight. He knew deep down, Bansha was partially right. But he wouldn't call it being lazy, he called it being cautious. If he were to incorrectly identify the next clue and died, the Preeminent would be disappointed. And he knew that the Preeminent wasn't someone he wanted to disappoint.

He remembered the last time he disappointed the Preeminent. He'd just arrived in the Cursed Realm and fixed the pillars on the eastern side of the Cursed Palace rather than those on the western side. The Preeminent had ordered her general, at the time it was only Soul Archer, to dangle Morro above a pit with an illusion cast over it. He had been hung over an empty pit enchanted to look like a pool of water for Cursed Realm knows how long. When he was let down, he immediately swore to never disappoint the Queen ever again.

Now he had little chance of messing up. If he messed up this mission, the Queen would probably throw him into the ocean herself. And she'd probably also take great pleasure in doing so.

:Goodbye Morro: he imagined the Preeminent cackling. :I won't miss you:

He banished the vision, just like that annoying voice. "I won't fail the Queen," he muttered. Saying it out loud only cemented that claim. He wouldn't fail. Not this time.

Taking a deep breath, he let himself be surrounded by his element. It calmed him, it fueled him, it kept him sane.

A soft whisper of a breeze rushed past, followed by a stronger, more prominent gust. He felt it ruffle his hair, sending the longer strands flying into his face. He fumbled around his clothes, managing to tear off a strip from the bottom edge of his gi. He tied his hair back and stared ahead, focusing only on the wind blowing past.

He could almost feel the previously raging and conflicting emotions calm. Turning around, he returned to the cave.

Bansha was floating around, arms raised with triumph when he stepped into the cavern. Her normally dark and calculating eyes were bright with glee and smugness.

"Back so soon?" she taunted, in a way that was so similar to the way Morro would berate the other generals and ghosts when things didn't go the way he planned.

"I was clearing my head, Bansha," he shot back without hesitation. "Did you figure out the clue?"

"The second clue is the Sword of Sanctuary," she said in an I'm doing all the work voice. "You go figure out how to find that yourself."

Morro scoffed and snatched the paper Bansha was waving around. He stared at the image of a cloud and sword. It was a relatively simple answer and for once, he thanked Sensei Wu in his head.

"We go to the Cloud Kingdom," he said, remembering the many lessons he'd had with Sensei Wu so many years ago. He remembered the one singular detail that had been drilled into his head by his former teacher.

"You can only get there through one doorway." Morro's eyes were glinting as he relished in the feeling of being right, of being that much closer to completing his mission. "By climbing the Wailing Alps, and passing through Blind Man's Eye."

Upon seeing the confused expressions on everyone save for Bansha's face, Morro bit back a retort and explained.

"There is a mountain, taller than any other in Ninjago," he said, purposely slowing his words. "It is often surrounded by strong hurricanes and snowstorms, so we can't exactly just float up there. Blind Man's Eye is the cyclone that can sometimes be seen passing over the peak."

"And how, exactly, do we get up there?" Wrayth asked. "Unless you can create more dragons for us..." Though his face was bandaged and burned beyond recognition, he still managed to keep a hopeful expression. "Can I have one that's silver with--"

"No," Morro's face lit up again as another idea came to life in his mind. "No dragons. We will acquire some additional support from Lloyd's friends."

***

Lloyd was sleeping on his bunk aboard Destiny's Bounty. A cool cloth was pressed against his forehead, kept chilled thanks to Zane. The other ninja were gathered around him, each one wearing various expressions of concern and worry.

"He's going to be alright, right?" Kai was probably the most concerned out of all of them, due to the promise he'd made to keep Lloyd safe. The promise he failed to keep.

"His body is very weak," Zane said after running some diagnostics in his head. "Pixal says that he would need at least two days of recovery."

"We don't have two days!" Jay protested. "We don't have the scroll of Airjitzu, we don't know what the other clues mean, and Morro is probably already on his way to the tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master!"

"Actually," Kai raised a hand almost sheepishly. "We do have a way of getting Airjitzu."

"Well don't just stand there," Cole shook his friend's shoulder. "Spill!"

The Master of Fire refused to meet his friends' gazes as he said, "Remember how I got to Stiix when we got the call?" He received a round of nods and forced himself to keep speaking. "So I got there, and I couldn't just drag Lloyd back here. Nya was fixing the thrusters after Morro broke them during our last encounter so the Bounty can't come."

"This can't be good," Jay muttered, covering his face with his hand.

"Ronin was passing by--"

"Kai, what did you do?" Cole interrupted.

"He gave me and Lloyd a lift back," Kai said. "And dropped us off here, remember?"

The other ninja seemed to be holding their breaths. They've seen how Kai negotiated with people in the past. And with Ronin, there would no doubt be negotiations taking place. Only the FSM knew what Kai did to ensure a quick and safe journey back to the Ninja headquarters.

"So..." Kai seemed to really be struggling with his words now. "I may or may not have given him my share of the tea farm."

Cole, Jay and Zane almost all relaxed visibly. If it was only Kai's share--

"And I may or may not have also given him all of yours?"

"WHAT?" Sensei Wu shouted.

"I'm sorry, Sensei," the Fire Ninja mumbled. Then he straightened. "But if it meant saving Lloyd's life, I'd do it again."

Just then, a loud beep rang through the room, startling everyone. Lloyd stirred in his sleep but didn't wake.

"Bad news guys," Nya pulled out a tablet. "We have some unwanted guests in the Samurai X cave."

"Let me guess," Cole crossed his arms. "Morro and his friends."

Nya checked the tablet again. On the screen, displayed in semi-acceptable quality, was a blur of green and purple. "Definitely one of Morro's friends," she said. "Not sure about the Wind Master himself though."

"I'll go with you, sis," Kai said, eager to jump back into action and take down the ghostly ninja. "Everyone else, make sure Lloyd is well rested." He was gone from the room before anyone could voice their opinions.

"Why is it that when Lloyd's out of commission, we turn to Kai?" Jay complained. "I mean, wasn't Cole the original leader before Lloyd?"

"Yes, but out of all of us, Kai has the closest friendship with Lloyd so cut him some slack," Cole said. "We'll follow Kai, and if it doesn't work, I can give leading a shot again."

***

Morro stared up at the yawning cave lined with glowing spherical bulbs and shoved Ghoultar in first. If there was a water trap, he wasn't going to be the one to die first. The skeletal ghost didn't scream out in pain and Morro was able to breathe a sigh of relief. He sped into the cave, following the line of glowing bulbs until the space opened up into a giant room lit up by lines of white running along the walls and ceiling.

"Ghoultar like!" the skeleton exclaimed with delight as he floated over to a tall, dark red contraption. It resembled a samurai and had golden details on the hands and katana.

"Then take it," Morro said. "Take whatever you want." He wasn't about to comment that the giant screen in the corner didn't seem as useful as the samurai, but kept quiet as Ghoultar rarely left the Cursed Realm and was always fascinated by the change of Ninjago. He bit back a laugh when he saw Ghoultar try on a set of armour that was clearly made for someone with a smaller figure.

Ghoultar floated into the dark red samurai, turning it dark green, black, and purple on contact. He cackled with glee and sat in the cockpit, playing around with the controls for several minutes before jumping back down.

"This will do," he said.

Morro nodded with agreement. "Good," he turned to leave the cave. "You, Soul, and Bansha can all fit in there."

"And Wrayth?"

Morro wasn't sure how to react at the mention of Wrayth. The Chain Master had arrived in the Cursed Realm shortly before he did, and was the closest thing he had to a best friend. But lately, Wrayth's behaviour was starting to put his patience to the test. Failing to stop the Ninja from even making it to Stiix a few days ago might've been the last thing Morro was willing to tolerate before he snapped.

"Seeing what he was doing before we left, Wrayth would be happy to keep studying those glowing rocks," was what he ended up saying.

A loud alarm suddenly blared through the entire cave. Morro groaned and urged Ghoultar to repossess the samurai mech.

"Go!" he ordered, and Ghoultar didn't hesitate to listen. For the first time since Morro got to know him, actually.

The skeletal ghost had just left the cave when the Fire Ninja burst in, followed by Nya. Both had their weapons drawn and Kai had a ball of fire surrounding his fists.

"Not so fast!" he shouted, making Nya look at him strangely.

"Not so fast?" she asked, lowering her blade slightly.

"I'm coming up with things on the spot, Nya," Kai said through clenched teeth. "Besides, we have to teach Morro a lesson--"

"In what?" Morro interrupted. He raised a hand and a large gust of wind tore through the cave. Several pieces of equipment rattled and strained against the anchors to the walls and floor. "If you two wanna argue, go ahead." He made a dash for the tunnel, barrelling toward the siblings. "But I have places to be, items to retrieve."

"Nya, NOW!" Kai shouted and Nya promptly sent a large stream of water flying at Morro's face just as she threw her flying "S" shaped disk.

The ghostly Ninja screeched and immediately threw up a barrier of wind, stumbling backward at the same time. The water splashed around him, not harming him, but terrifying him enough to make the wind sputter and die out. "You-you're a...water...?"

"What?" Nya stammered, seeming just as surprised as Morro was. She stared at her hands with wonder and threw them out again. This time, a weak spray of water vapour drifted around the room before evaporating. "Uh..." She shook her hands, hoping that more water would fly out. "Why isn't it working?"

Morro chuckled softly, his anxiety and fear fading away. He pushed himself up on his feet and called upon his powers again. "Either that was a fluke, or..." He let his form dissolve into wind and shot past the siblings. His laugh echoed through the metal tunnels and gradually faded away.

"Nya..." Kai gave his sister a look of disbelief and confusion. "What was that?"

"I-I don't know," Nya continued to stare at her hands. To her amazement and shock (and maybe a bit of horror, she didn't know), a small ball of crystal-clear water formed, hovering above her palms. "Kai, what's happening?"

The ball of water floated above their heads, flying around for a moment before exploding into a shower of water droplets. The giant machinery and computer screen sparked and powered down.

***

The ghost generals' base of operations was a chaos zone to say the least.

In an attempt to celebrate Morro and Ghoultar's success in acquiring some form of mech for the climb, Wrayth had placed several of those glowing stones all over any available surface in the cave. Bansha had offered to sing something, though Morro told her to save her songs for when they encounter the Ninja.

"It'll be better then," he said quickly, upon seeing her downcast expression. "There would be a bigger audience." He didn't tell her that her "singing" was primarily consisting of screeching and shrieking, and that most of the time, the ghosts needed at least a few hours to recover.

"Bigger audience?"

"Yes," Morro said. "The ninja?"

Bansha's eyes lit up almost immediately. "Oh, you're right."

"I'm always right," Morro said with the barest hint of bitterness.

Ghoultar was parading around, as much as he could, given that the samurai mech practically reached the cave ceiling. More than once, Soul Archer already had to berate the skeletal ghost for nearly destroying what little things they had set up in the cave. Several chunks of stone and broken stalagmites were already scattered across the floor.

"Morro, when do we leave?" Archer asked, feeling his head grow dizzy by watching Ghoultar run around in the glowing mech. "At least then the giant samurai would be put to good use."

"We can leave now," Morro suggested. He was met with several looks of protest and he narrowed his eyes. "Or we could wait, and then let the Ninja get the upper hand, let them stop us and we can all disappoint the Queen together."

"Let's go now," Wrayth said before Morro could finish.

"Good."

If anyone saw the giant green samurai mech stomping out of a cave, led by two ghosts, they probably wouldn't bat an eye. This was Ninjago after all, and it was known to all that the city and country was used to strange things happening. And Morro counted on this.

The group passed a farm, where several people were hard at work, planting and harvesting. Ghoultar, being the curious spirit he was, waved from his spot on the mech's shoulder.

"Hello!" he called.

The farmers waved back and resumed working, much to the amusement of the other ghosts. Morro was cackling when the farm was out of sight.

"You think they would think something was up," he said.

The journey to the Wailing Alps was uneventful when compared to anything that had happened in the past few days. At least, Morro thought it was uneventful. There were no ghosts being shot at with screaming arrows, no random food break requests, and no raspy shrieking that was meant to be singing.

He supposed he should give his generals some credit. Bansha did help decipher the second clue, after all. And while Soul Archer and Wrayth had both been vapourized by water (both unforeseen circumstances, by the way), it did allow them to be more cautious. And Ghoultar... he managed to acquire the samurai mech. And that on its own impressed Morro. Still, he felt like he did most of the work.

Like that plan which involved you pretending to be a weakling?

Morro groaned and clutched at his hair. The voice was back. Go away, he thought.

I'm only trying to help, the voice cooed. You're almost there, by the way.

You're not helping, go away. Despite this, Morro looked up, delighted to see that the Wailing Alps were visible in the distance. Wait, can the other generals hear you?

There was no response from the voice.

"We're almost there!" Soul Archer called. "Ghoultar, can this thing fly?"

"I can fly," Morro said. As if to prove his point, he summoned his wind and called upon his newly found Airjitzu skills. He rose in the air, zooming off toward the impossibly tall mountain. Behind him, he could hear the faint roar of something coming alive. Shortly after, the mech was speeding after him.

"Is this how you feel when you use your powers?" Bansha asked, her voice somehow not sounding as raspy as it had before. "It feels so..."

"Exhilarating." Wrayth finished. "It feels exhilarating."

"Using my powers is the only way I can truly have control," Morro admitted as he let himself slow to a glide alongside his generals. "I've never had control in my past life, and I certainly don't have control now, with the Queen and all."

"Don't let her hear you say that," Archer warned. "She'll be furious."

"I'm still the one she chose to complete this mission," Morro snapped. "And besides, I've said worse things before."

The other generals seemed to remember the first time they all met Morro and how the Wind Master was determined to ensure that they knew their place. Morro remembered it too. He remembered how he was only a child compared to these other ghosts, who'd been around the Cursed Realm for way longer than he had (except for Wrayth, who only arrived a few years prior). At the time, he had been a nineteen-year-old with powers that most could only dream of having. And he had also just died a few days earlier, and the Cursed Realm knows that trying to assimilate a teenager into a new life against their will wouldn't result in something that was all sunshine and rainbows.

"Right, so when we arrive, we climb," Morro said, his tone of finality marking the end of the conversation. They'd also reached their destination, and were standing at the foot of a mountain.

The Wailing Alps stretched up to the sky, disappearing into a mass of shifting, grey clouds. Winds swirled around it, strong enough to upset one's balance, but not enough to blow them away completely. A few stray leaves flew past, some of them passing through the ghosts' noncorporeal bodies.

Morro stared up at it. In his eyes, it was just another mountain to climb, literally and figuratively. In his eyes, it was another lesson, another test... Another version of those damned Golden Weapons, taunting him with something that was so close yet so far out of reach, something he deserved after years of training and hard work. He growled and clenched his fists. The winds subsided a bit as his emotions calmed.

"Let's climb," he said to the other ghosts.

***

Climbing the Wailing Alps was a true test of Morro's endurance, strength and skill. More than once, he almost lost control over the winds and sent them toppling back down the mountain. He gritted his teeth and lifted a hand, his arm shaking with exertion.

It was exhausting. But he'd never admit it because the other generals wouldn't let him forget it.

He kept his mind focused on the Sword of Sanctuary. He'd read about the fabled blade in his studies as well. The legends told of a special ability that the sword held, supposedly infused within the metal as some form of blessing from a past Master of Mind. The sword, when used correctly, could determine an opponent's next moves, and in some rare occasions, their futures.

One foot in front of another, he thought to himself as he slowly dragged himself up the side of the mountain. Keep going, don't give in now.

"Morro."

He looked up, grateful for some form of distraction from the energy-draining climb. Wrayth was floating next to him, using his chain as a way to drag himself up and to not be swept clean off the face of the mountain by the winds.

"What if we miss Blind Man's Eye?" he asked.

"We won't," Morro replied. He nearly groaned when another gust of wind tore past, along with a flurry of snowflakes and rainwater.

He slashed his arm up, the gust of wind obeying his every command and condensing into a cocoon around him, Wrayth, and the samurai mech. Snow and rain bounced off harmlessly as they continued their trek up the mountain.

He could feel his energy draining. He could feel his control slipping, but he forced the shield to stay up. If another one of the generals got vapourized because of rain, the Preeminent would probably come for his head.

I control the wind, he chanted to himself. And no one else does.

"Morro, the snow and rain stopped."

A sob of relief escaped his lips and let his arms fall. The wind dispersed with a soft whoosh, leaving the air still and calm.

Morro all but collapsed onto the dry, powdery snow, his chest heaving despite him not being able to breathe.

"Stupid mountain," he gasped out. "How...dare it use my...own element against me."

"We could rest if you want," Bansha offered. "The Hanging Temple is right up there."

"No rest!" Morro snapped, too abruptly for the statement to be true. "We keep going. Those Ninja are following us, I know it!"

"Ninjas are down there," Ghoultar pointed with his scythe.

Sure enough, there were a few colourful dots making their way up the mountain, no doubt following the tracks the samurai mech made.

"Cursed Realm, can I ever stay more than one step ahead?" Morro grumbled under his breath. He turned to Bansha, a weary smile on his face. "But since they're here." His smile grew despite the clear exhaustion. "Bansha, would you like to sing them a song?"

Her eyes lit up almost instantly, the dark green practically glowing. "It'd be my pleasure," she said, a sinister grin creeping its way onto her face.

Taking a deep breath, she started to sing.

Morro admitted that he was impressed. So she can sing, he thought with amusement. A glare from her told him that she heard through the mental link.

The song was nothing like the raspy screeches Bansha managed to rip from her throat on a daily basis in the Cursed Realm and Ninjago. It was an actual song. There might not have been any lyrics, but the sound was haunting and beautiful.

It sounded sad. So sad, to the point where Morro wanted to curl up into a ball and cry himself to sleep, then wake up and throw himself off a cliff into the ocean. Then the song crescendoed and the sad feeling grew. It grew until it wasn't sad anymore, but angry. Sorrow became rage and the notes became higher and higher and higher.

Then Bansha hit the last note, a sound that was so shrill and pitched, yet it didn't sound forced like her usual screams. It sounded as natural as wielding his element was to him. A shock wave rippled across the mountain, bringing tons of snow and ice with it.

Morro could see the colourful dots scramble as a giant wave of ice swept down the mountain. Then the dots disappeared under a wave of white, and he felt some strange feeling of satisfaction. The Ninja were finally gone.

"Thank you, Bansha," he said. He took a moment to appreciate the power her voice had, the way she could force the environment around her to change with a song. He chose to not comment on her screeching in the future.

"I should be the one thanking you," she said, sounding more cheerful than she ever did. "I've never been able to sing like that in the Cursed Realm for a very long time."

"Now that she mentioned it," Wrayth popped his head over the shoulder of the giant mech. "The Preeminent never lets us do anything we want."

"That's because she's the Preeminent."

***

The Preeminent growled angrily and stormed to the nearest alcove in her throne room, the one directly in front of her. She intended on going to Ninjago herself to give her generals a piece of her mind. The chains around her wrists and ankles pulled taut just before she reached it.

Right, she couldn't do that just yet. Because those damned shackles were still there, glowing softly as if taunting her.

She stalked back to her throne, glaring at the window she'd opened. It was showing her a wave of ice and snow rolling down a mountain. There were five glowing figures watching the event unfold from the top of the mountain. Then there was a ringing in her ears, something she knew was a result of Bansha's songs. Not her screeches. But an actual song.

She knew Bansha wouldn't sing like that whenever she felt like it. She knew that Bansha only produced ear-splitting screeches and screams when she wanted to be intimidating. That song, the hauntingly beautiful melody, definitely wasn't anything that Bansha would try just because she wanted to scare some lesser ghosts or humans.

When Bansha arrived in the Cursed Realm, the Preeminent had told the female ghost to show her what she was capable of doing, and Bansha had sung a similar song. The Cursed Palace had shook, a few pillars even crumbled, and the Preeminent had to stop her from doing anymore damage to the palace. She had lashed out, perhaps more violently than what was necessary, and sliced a deep gash in Bansha's neck. It had been enough to shock her back to the Realm and stop singing.

It was foolish, of course. Bansha wouldn't die again because of that, and the gash did heal over a few centuries. But to really prevent anything like that from happening again, she placed a curse on Bansha. A curse that supposedly took away her ability to sing like that ever again.

But somehow, being sent to Ninjago was letting her do that.

The Preeminent sighed. She should focus on the positive. That wave of ice was no doubt directed at the supposed "Ninja" that Morro kept reporting about. And if she saw correctly, the avalanche had wiped anything and anyone off the face of the mountain. No one would be able to survive that.

She closed the window.

Morro would succeed in the mission. He would retrieve the Realm Crystal, and she would finally be free of these shackles.

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Yeee I'm back after idk how many months, but I've been super busy. Anyways, I wrote this, starting to get more of the side characters developed bc in the show, the ghosts are just there as members of the Cursed Army.

Also some lore I made up about the Sword of Sanctuary? I think it'd make sense that it was made by an elemental master, or by the FSM himself. Since the sword can show an opponent's next move, I assumed that it could've been a gift from a past Master of Mind.

And some background on Bansha! The haunting song being one of her "special abilities". I plan on giving all the other ghosts ones, and each chapter would have one little section focused on them.

Until the next update...